Page No 12:

Question 2-(a):

Why did Mrs. Packletide want to kill a tiger?

Answer:

Mrs. Packletide was jealous of her rival, Loona Bimberton, who had recently travelled 11 kilometres in an airplane operated by an Algerian aviator. In order to outclass her, Mrs. Packletide decided to hunt a tiger and gain media coverage through her pictures.

Page No 12:

Question 2-(b):

What does it tell you
about her?

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

Mrs. Packletide is
full of vanity. She is a selfish person who seems to be jealous at
other people’s success.

Page No 12:

Question 2-(c):

What is the tone of the
storywriter?

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

It seems that the story
has humour laced with satire.

Page No 12:

Question 2-(d):

Do you think she was
successful in her mission?

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

The story begins on a
note that suggests that Mrs. Packletide’s has made up her mind
to shoot a tiger. With this firm resolve, it seems that she was
successful in her mission.

Page No 12:

Question 2-(e):

What do you think the
story is all about?

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

I think the story is
all about Mrs. Packletide’s hunting expedition.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(j):

How did Miss Mebbin manage to get her
week-end cottage? Why did she plant so many tiger lilies in her
garden?

Answer:

Louisa Mebbin
blackmailed Mrs. Packletide into buying her the weekend cottage or
else she would have told Loona Bimberton that it was not the tiger
but a mere goat that Mrs. Packletide had shot. The tiger lilies would
always remind of how she had procured the cottage.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(i):

Do you think Mrs. Packletide was able
to achieve her heart's desire? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:

At the very beginning
of the story it is made clear that Mrs. Packletide had made up her
mind to shoot a tiger and get her pictures published in newspapers to
show off to Loona Bimberton. She managed to shoot an animal, the
goat. The tiger died of heart-failure. She, however, got her pictures
with the dead tiger published in the newspapers. She also gifted a
tiger-claw brooch to Loona Bimberton. She also hosted a luncheon
party for Loona Bimberton which the latter declined to attend. Thus
Mrs. Packletide achieved what her heart desired.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(h):

How did the villagers react to the
tiger's death?

Answer:

The villagers were only
bothered for their thousand rupees. They did not pay any heed to Miss
Mebbin’s revelation that Mrs. Packletide had not killed a tiger
but a goat. They readily believed that Mrs. Packletide had shot the
beast lest they lose their money.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(g):

What comment did Miss Mebbin make after
Mrs Packletide had fired the shot?

Why did Miss Mebbin make this comment?
How did Mrs Packletide react to this comment?

Answer:

Miss Mebbin brought to
everybody’s notice that Mrs.Packletide had not killed the tiger
but the goat. The tiger died because of a heart-failure caused by the
sound of the gun shot. Miss Mebbin intended to blackmail Mrs.
Packletide with this piece of information. She wanted to take more
money from her. Mrs. Packletide was very annoyed at this disclosure.
However, she told herself that Miss Mebbin was only a paid companion
who would keep the secret to herself if given more money.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(f):

Mrs. Packletide was a good shot.
Discuss.

Answer:

Mrs.Packletide was
definitely a good shot. She did manage to shoot an animal although it
was only the goat. The tiger merely died of a heart-failure caused by
the sound of the gun shot.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(e):

Who was Miss Mebbin? Was she really
devoted to Mrs. Packletide? How did she behave during the tiger
shooting?

Answer:

Miss Mebbin was a paid
companion. Mrs. Packletide had acquired her so that she could witness
the shooting of the tiger. She was very materialistic. She didn’t
want to do more than she was paid for. In fact she also instigated
Mrs. Packletide not to pay for the goat if the tiger did not eat it.
She was not at all devoted to Mrs. Packletide. She was there only for
the money.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(d):

In what way did the villagers help Mrs.
Packletide shoot the tiger?

Answer:

The villagers were very
excited at the prospect of earning a thousand rupees. They posted
children at the outskirt of the jungle to keep a watch on the tiger
in case he wanders off to new hunting grounds. Goats were scattered
to keep him satisfied and to prevent him from straying. Mothers with
babies walked quietly through the jungle so as to not to disturb its
sleep. The villagers were only worried about the tiger that should
not die of old age before the day of shoot.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(c):

How was the tiger shooting arranged?
What kind of a tiger was chosen for the purpose?

Answer:

Mrs.Packletide offered
a thousand rupees to villagers for arranging an opportunity to shoot
a tiger without much risk or exertion. An old tiger that had given up
hunting and confined himself to eating domestic animal was chosen for
this purpose.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(b):

What made her decide to give a party in
Loona Bimberton's honour? What did she intend to give Loona on her
birthday?

Answer:

Mrs.Packletide decided
that once she shot a tiger, she would invite Loona Bimberton for a
luncheon party. At the party she would display the newly-acquired
tiger skin. The party would be an appropriate time to show off the
tiger skin and talk about her tiger-shooting experience to Loona
Bimberton. She intended to give a tiger-claw brooch to Loona
Bimberton on her birthday.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(a):

Why did Mrs. Packletide wish to kill a
tiger?

Answer:

Mrs. Packletide wished
to kill a tiger so that she could counter to Loona Bimberton’s
claim who had been carried eleven miles in an Algerian aviator.

Page No 16:

Question 4-(k):

"The incidental expenses are so
heavy," she confides to inquiring friends. Who is the speaker?
What is she referring to here?

Answer:

Mrs. Packletide is the
speaker. The lines are said in response to questions regarding why
she did not hunt anymore. Mrs. Packletide is referred to the expenses
that she incurred when she hunted for the first time, she paid the
villagers, she paid Louisa Mebbin and even had to buy her a cottage.

Page No 17:

Question 5-(a):

Do you think the tiger shooting
organized by the villagers was a serious affair?

Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:

The tiger shooting
organised by the villagers was a serious affair. They were very keen
to earn their thousand rupees. They posted children at the outskirts
of the jungle to keep a watch on the tiger in case he wanders off to
new hunting grounds. Goats were scattered to keep him satisfied and
to prevent him from straying. Mothers with the babies walked quietly
through the jungle so as to not to disturb its sleep. The villagers
had only one worry that the tiger should not die of old age before
the day of shoot.

Page No 17:

Question 5-(b):

Do you think the writer is trying to
make fun of the main characters in the story i.e. Mrs. Packletide,
Miss Mebbin and Loona Bimberton? Pick out instances from the story
that point to this fact.

Answer:

Mrs. Packletide’s Tiger is
a humourous story. The author makes fun of almost all the characters.
He satirises Mrs.Packletide’s obsession with killing a tiger so
as to show off in front of Loona Bimberton. He makes fun of Louisa
Mebbin’s materialistic nature. She was very particular about
how every penny was spent. He makes fun of Loona Bimberton who
refused to attend Mrs. Packletide’s luncheon party because she
was jealous of her achievements.

Page No 17:

Question 5-(c):

A person who is vain is full of self
importance and can only think of himself/herself and can go to
great lengths to prove his/her superiority. Do you think Mrs
Packletide is vain? Give reasons in support of your answer.

Answer:

The story begins with
Mrs. Packletide’s obsession to procure a tiger skin so that she
can show it off to Loona Bimberton. To obtain the tiger skin
Mrs.Packletide goes to extreme lengths; she offers a thousand rupees
to the villagers to shoot a tiger without much risk or exertion. She
acquires a paid companion, Louisa Mebbin, a witness to her
extraordinary feat. She makes sure her pictures appear in
international newspapers. Finally, she buys a weekend cottage for
Louisa Mebbin to prevent her from telling anybody that it was not the
tiger but a goat she had shot because the tiger merely died of a
heart attack. All this proves that Mrs. Packletide was a vain woman.

Page No 17:

Question 5-(d):

Sometimes writers highlight certain
negative aspects in society or human beings by making fun of it. This
is called satire. In your groups discuss whether you would classify
this story as a satire. Give reasons to support your answer

Answer:

This story is definitely a satire. The
author not only makes fun of the situation but also of the
characters. Mrs. Packeltide’s actions were largely directed by
dislike of Loona Bimberton. The motive behind tiger hunt was to show
off to her. Loona Bimberton did not look at Mrs. Packletide’s
pictures in the newspapers. Her letter of thanks for the tiger-claw
brooch was a model of repressed emotions. She declined to attend the
luncheon party because she wouldn’t be able to see people
praising Mrs. Packletide. Both Louisa Mebbin and the villagers are
only concerned about their remuneration. Louisa Mebbin even
blackmailed Mrs. Packletide into buying her a cottage. The villagers
happily believed that Mrs. Packletide had shot the tiger and not the
goat lest they lose their fee. The whole situation of the tiger hunt
is also laced with satire. An old tiger who had given up hunting was
chosen for the purpose. The tiger dies of a heart-failure than a gun
shot. The author paints a picture of a society that is essentially
governed by wealth and mutual dislike for each other.

Page No 17:

Question 5-(e):

How does the writer create humor in
this story?

Answer:

The author makes fun of
each character and situation. The characters of Loona Bimberton,
Mrs. Packletide, Louisa Mebbin and the villagers are all ridiculed
for their peculiar character traits.The tiger hunt is mocked a; an
old, infirm tiger is chosen for the hunt making it the least
dangerous expedition. The power of money is so strong that the
villagers agree that it was not a goat but a tiger that was shot.
Louisa Mebbin agrees to keep this a secret in return of money. Thus
the author creates humour in the story by highlighting the negative
aspects in society or human beings.

Page No 17:

Question 6:

Choose extracts from
the story that illustrate the character of the people listed in the
table given below. There are some words given to help you. You may
add words of your own. One has been done as an example:

vain

jealous

competitive

shrewd

manipulative

stingy

materialistic

spiteful

Character

Extract from the story

What this tells us about the
character

Mrs. Packletide

(i) The compelling
motive for her sudden deviation towards the footsteps of Nimrod
was the fact that Loona Bimberton had recently been carried eleven
miles in an aeroplane by an Algerian aviator, and talked of
nothing else; only a personally procured tiger-skin and a heavy
harvest of Press photographs could successfully counter that sort
of thing

Competitive

(ii) Mrs. Packletide had offered a thousand rupees for the
opportunity of shooting a tiger without over-much risk or
exertion,

_____________

(iii) Mrs. Packletide faced the cameras with a light heart, and
her pictured fame reached from the pages of the Texas Weekly
Snapshot to the illustrated Monday upplement of the Novoe Vremya.

_____________

Louisa Mebbin

(i) "If it's an
old tiger I think you ought to get it cheaper. A thousand rupees
is a lot of money."

(iii) "How
amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened,"
said Louisa Mebbin a few days after the ball.

_____________

(iv) Louisa Mebbin's
pretty week-end cottage, christened by her "Les Fauves,"
and gay in summer-time with its garden borders of tiger-lilies, is
the wonder and admiration of her friends

_____________

Loona Bimberton

(i) As for Loona
Bimberton, she refused to look at an illustrated paper for weeks,
and her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was a
model of repressed emotions

_____________

(ii) there are limits beyond which repressed
emotions become dangerous.

_______________

Answer:

Character

Extract from the story

What this tells us about the
character

Mrs. Packletide

(i) The compelling motive for her sudden deviation towards the
footsteps of Nimrod was the fact that Loona Bimberton had recently
been carried eleven miles in an aeroplane by an Algerian aviator,
and talked of nothing else; only a personally procured tiger-skin
and a heavy harvest of Press photographs could successfully
counter that sort of thing

Competitive

(ii) Mrs. Packletide
had offered a thousand rupees for the opportunity of shooting a
tiger without over-much risk or exertion,

Manipulative

(iii) Mrs.
Packletide faced the cameras with a light heart, and her pictured
fame reached from the pages of the Texas Weekly Snapshot to the
illustrated Monday upplement of the Novoe Vremya.

Vain

Louisa Mebbin

(i) “If it’s
an old tiger I think you ought to get it cheaper. A thousand
rupees is a lot of money.”

(iii) "How
amused everyone would be if they knew what really happened,"
said Louisa Mebbin a few days after the ball.

Shrewd

(iv) Louisa Mebbin's
pretty week-end cottage, christened by her "Les Fauves,"
and gay in summer-time with its garden

borders of
tiger-lilies, is the wonder and admiration of her friends

Spiteful

Loona Bimberton

(i) As for Loona
Bimberton, she refused to look at an illustrated paper for weeks,
and her letter of thanks for the gift of a tiger-claw brooch was a
model of repressed emotions

Jealous

(ii) there are limits beyond which repressed
emotions become dangerous.

Spiteful

Page No 19:

Question 7-(b):

Mrs. Packletide had
already arranged in her mind the lunch she would give at her house in
Curzon Street, ostensibly in Loona Bimberton's honour, with a
tiger-skin rug occupying most of the foreground and all of the
conversation.

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Answer:

Mrs. Packletide had
already imagined the lunch party she would have, supposedly in honour
of Loona Bimberton, where she would display the tiger-skin rug and
talk about the tiger hunt.

Page No 19:

Question 7-(c):

Mothers carrying their babies home through the jungle after the day's work in the fields hushed their singing lest they might curtail the restful sleep of the venerable herd-robber.

________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Answer:

Mothers, with their babies, after the day's work, walked past the jungle in complete silence so as not to disturb the sleep of the esteemed tiger.

Page No 20:

Question 9-(b3:

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

Lady-friend: Did you
see the newspapers today?

Loona Bimberton: Why?
What happened?

Lady-friend: Didn’t
you see pictures of Mrs. Packletide with a dead tiger!

Loona Bimberton: Oh
that! Yes I glanced at it.

Lady-friend: Isn’t
it amazing!

Loona Bimberton: Yes,
yes, of course. Did I tell you about my experience in the Algerian
aviator?

Page No 20:

Question 9-(b2:

In groups of four
construct the dialogues and enact the following situations from the
story:

Miss Mebbin
blackmailing Mrs Packletide into gifting her a cottage

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

Miss Mebbin: What would
everyone say if they got to know the truth?

Mrs.Packletide: What do
you mean?

Miss Mebbin: The truth
Mrs. Packletide! How you shot the goat and frightened the tiger to
death!

Mrs. Packletide
(shocked): No one would believe it!

Miss Mebbin: Loona
Bimberton would.

Mrs. Packletide: You
wouldn’t tell the truth to Loona.

Miss Mebbin: I wish to
buy a weekend cottage at Darking, its just that I don’t have
the money.

Mrs.Packletide: If I
buy you the cottage, would you promise not to tell our little secret
to Loona Bimberton.

Miss Mebbin: Oh yes!
Yes!

Page No 20:

Question 9-(b1:

In groups of four
construct the dialogues and enact the following situations from the
story:

Mrs. Packletide and the
headman of the village/other villagers discussing the details of the
tiger shooting

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.

Mrs.Packletide: I want
to shoot a tiger. I will give you a thousand rupees to make necessary
arrangements for tiger hunting. I want to shoot a tiger but without
any risk or exertion.

Village Headman: There
is an old tiger in the jungle who has given up hunting because of old
age. He will be right for this hunt.

Mrs.Packletide: That
will be perfect! I will make other arrangements. You let me know
when the time is right.

Page No 20:

Question 9-(a):

Years later Mrs.
Packletide writes her autobiography. As Mrs. Packletide, write about
the tiger episode with the help of the clues given below.

jealous of the applause Loona was
getting-thought of tiger hunt--all arranged-- Louisa Mebbin
accompanied; turned out to be a blackmailer-huge price to pay to
outdo a rival

Answer:

Note:This
question is to be answered on the basis of your own understanding,
experience and thoughts. It is strongly recommended that you prepare
the solution on your own. However, sample solutions have been
provided for your reference.